I talked in my previous post about The Falcon & Winter Soldier on Disney+ ending. If you're hungry for more after that finale, you might be interested in reading some of the comics! This post is Part 2, last time I talked about Falcon and this time I'm gonna talk about the Winter Soldier. It can be intimidating getting into a new superhero for the first time, especially a character who's been around for over 80 years like Bucky Barnes. I am here to help you with the best jumping-on points to pick up a Bucky Barnes story for new readers.
A Brief Overview of Bucky Barnes
Bucky Barnes debuted in 1941's Captain America Comics #1 by writer-artist team Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. The 1940's, often called the "Golden Age" by comics fans, were a time when pretty much every superhero needed a kid sidekick... that was Bucky to Captain America. Comics were exclusively intended for kids, and the "sidekick" was a device that allowed them to project themselves into what they were reading. By the 1960's, Captain America had been out of print for several years. The audience for comics had grown up and comics were growing with them. In 1964 when Stan Lee and Jack Kirby revived Captain America for their book Avengers #4 they decided to leave Bucky behind. The tragic death of Bucky at the end of WW2 would provide Steve Rogers with motivation for decades to come.
It wasn't until 2005 that writer Ed Brubaker decided to bring the character back, creating the idea of the Winter Soldier. Like the frozen body of Steve Rogers was recovered by Americans, Bucky Barnes had been recovered by the Soviet government. They gave him a bionic arm and brainwashed him to become the ultimate assassin while cryogenically freezing him between missions. In the present day he meets Steve Rogers again and recovers his memories, eventually becoming the new Captain America and even a member of the Avengers.
Recommended Reading
* Ed Brubaker's Captain America - I could probably end the list right here. Ed Brubaker's 2005-2013 run on Captain America is maybe the greatest in the character's history, and inarguably the definitive book on Bucky Barnes. Resurrecting Bucky Barnes was Brubaker's long-time dream and he makes it an immediate priority. The first volume of this series focuses on Steve Rogers, but the Winter Soldier is quickly introduced. Bucky is a supporting character until the events of Civil War, where Steve Rogers is assassinated. The comic then sees Bucky Barnes pick up the shield to become the new Captain America for several years. This long-running saga is an espionage action blockbuster that never disappoints. If you're a fan of Bucky at all this is the #1 book to read, but I'll include some more self-contained stories if you just want something casual and easy to pick up instead of a multi-year epic.
* Captain America: White - This six-issue 2015 miniseries by writer Jeph Loeb and artist Tim Sale is the fourth in their "Color" series of books revisiting the early Marvel years. The self-contained tale focuses on Captain America in the World War II era with an emphasis on the relationship between Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes.
* Bucky Barnes: The Winter Soldier - This 2014 ongoing series by writer Ales Kot and artist Marco Rudy is a big status quo shift for Bucky. In the aftermath of Marvel's "Original Sin" event Bucky is now "The Man on the Wall," tasked by Nick Fury with protecting Earth from unforeseen cosmic threats... by any means necessary.
* Winter Soldier: The Bitter March - This 2014 miniseries by writer Rick Remender and artist Roland Boschi is a dark gritty self-contained spy adventure with Winter Soldier at the height of the cold war, easy to read on its own. * Falcon & Winter Soldier: Cut Off One Head - I recommended this book in my Falcon article also because it's pretty tailor designed for fans of the TV show. This 2020 miniseries by writer Derek Landy and artist Federico Vicentini isn't a direct Disney+ tie-in, but it is obviously designed for people who want to read more about these two characters teaming up.
This is not an exhaustive list of good Winter Soldier comics, these are just some places I would recommend for beginners who don't know where to start. Please let me know in the comments if you enjoy any of them! Alternatively, tell me about how you got into Bucky for the first time!
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